A blind man with autism has been given the coveted "golden buzzer" on America's Got Talent after his rendition of Donny Hathaway's A Song For You had all four judges on their feet.
Judge Gabrielle Union, an actress from nineties teen movies 10 Things I Hate About You and She's All That, was the one who awarded 22-year-old Kodi Lee the "golden buzzer", sending him straight through to the live shows.
The contestant's mother, Tina Lee, supported him as he went on stage to perform to the judges.
“Kodi is blind and autistic. We found out that he loved music really early on. He listened and his eyes just went huge, and he started singing, that’s when I was in tears.
“I realised he’s an entertainer," she added. "Through music and performing, he was able to withstand living in this world because when you’re autistic, it’s really hard to do what everybody else does. It actually has saved his life playing music.”
After his performance, Judges Union, Julianne Hough, Howie Mandel and Simon Cowell gave him a standing ovation - with tears streaming down Hough's face.
Cowell said of the performance: "What just happened there was extraordinary, I mean really extraordinary. I don’t know what it’s like to live in Kodi’s world. All I can tell is you obviously have an amazing relationship, the two of you, and your voice is absolutely fantastic.
“You have a really beautiful tone. Thank you so much for trusting us on this show. I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life.”
The video has captured attention worldwide with already over seven million views for the full performance on YouTube .
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